“The word ‘responsibility’ was just something I said because I like you and wanted to be together. I wanted to let you live in a better house, enjoy more. I could make that happen. In my emotional responsibility of liking you, those things were included.”
Kwon Taejung didn’t know what Yigyeom desperately hoped for or clung to. Yigyeom cried without even thinking to wipe away the overflowing tears. The overwhelming emotions made it impossible to speak properly.
“…Yigyeom.”
Seeing Yigyeom crying sorrowfully, Kwon Taejung barely called out his name a few times, unable to say anything more, silently gazing at his face. His honest words seemed to inflict even more significant wounds on Yigyeom.
“…What I… sob… What I wished for… wasn’t… a better house or… enjoying more… I… I wanted… someone like you… a good person… liking me… liking me was just too… too nice…”
“…”
“I… wanted to be with you. That’s… all. I was okay… as long as it was just you… really just you…”
Only after hearing Yigyeom’s tear-filled words did Kwon Taejung realize how much he had hurt Yigyeom. It was wrong from the start to think that knowing he was a chaebol rather than a gangster would make no one dislike him.
“Yigyeom, I… “
“…What makes me sad is… that the good chief I trusted and liked… is no longer here.”
“…”
“The chief said nothing has changed, but I… No, everything feels… too different…”
“…”
“…Goodbye.”
Yigyeom, wiping his cheeks and eyes with his hands, opened the car door and stepped out. Kwon Taejung, dazed, watched Yigyeom moving away from the car and then, coming to his senses, rushed out of the driver’s seat to block the entrance, looking at Yigyeom with teary eyes, feeling tormented and pained.
“I’m sorry.”
“…”
“I shouldn’t say that… I was too careless in telling you that I was wrong. I thought I could easily resolve it even when I told you I was no longer a gangster but a chaebol… I thought so carelessly.”
“…”
“Sorry. Only after hearing you say you didn’t know who I was did I realize that I was strongly mistaken. And that this sense of responsibility I talk about could make your heart heavier.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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“Give me a chance to tell you who I am.”
“…”
“It’s a request.”
Yigyeom, trying to avoid Kwon Taejung, halted his movement towards the door. A warm breeze gently brushed his wet cheeks in the quiet alley. Kwon Taejung, relieved that Yigyeom didn’t go inside and was willing to listen, spilled out his thoughts.
“My name is Kwon Taejung, thirty-two years old. I came from Taesung Group. As the Chairman’s son, my position in the company was Chief. Now, due to an accident, I’ve been removed. I came here on the condition that if the demolition proceeds without any incident for a month and a half, I’ll return to my original position.”
A solemn voice echoed within the alley. Yigyeom cautiously looked up at Kwon Taejung. His gaze descending upon his face was extremely serious, devoid of any frivolity or playfulness.
“As you know, there was an uproar due to that nightmare of the demolition village broadcast. All the contractors were driven out, construction was halted. I waited until things settled down and secured a demolition job, but the broadcasting station kept meddling with the demolition village again. I learned that you were at the center, and for three months, it was my job to prevent any mischief from you.”
Kwon Taejung slowly revealed everything to Yigyeom, everything from the beginning, or at least from when feelings of affection arose.
“At first, I remembered everything. Why I came here, what I came for. But then, the reason for meeting you changed. I forgot why I approached you, why I had to spend time with you.”
“…”
“I liked spending time with you that much. I wished those three months wouldn’t pass. I only saw you, forgetting about my company, my position.”
“…”
“I don’t want it to end like this. Just meet me for the remaining time, even for a month and a half. If on the last day you say you dislike me, I won’t bother you anymore.”
Yigyeom knew he couldn’t refuse. Even when he first found out that Kwon Taejung had deceived and teased him, he couldn’t completely erase the feelings he had now.
“…I won’t deliberately avoid… meeting you.”
After a while, Yigyeom’s response came out. Kwon Taejung, feeling defeated, exhaled deeply, bowed his upper body, grasped his folded knees with both hands.
In a moment when he was already hurt, Yigyeom’s answer, which seemed to relieve the tension by not making Kwon Taejung even more aggressively forceful, made him feel powerless, draining all strength from his legs.
“That’s enough. Thank you.”
“T-That… doesn’t mean… that I’ll trust the chief again, and… and continue… liking… you…”
He wanted to say without stuttering or trembling, but he ended up embarrassed, feeling awkward about the redness flooding Kwon Taejung’s face, ears, and neck. Thinking Kwon Taejung could see how red he was made him want to escape immediately.
“You can’t expect feelings.”
“…”
“But I’ll try to regain your heart.”
“…”
“I hope you’ll smile at me again.”
Yigyeom fidgeted with his hands, unsure of what to do. He felt the heat rising in his ears more and more. He didn’t want to show this side anymore and, not wanting Kwon Taejung to see, turned around, grabbed the emergency key under the door, and hesitantly looked back at Kwon Taejung.
“…I’ll go in now.”
“Yeah. Call me anytime if there’s anything. I’m not just saying it.”
“…Goodbye.”
Yigyeom, who still couldn’t meet the gaze reaching him, quickly bowed in greeting and turned to open the door. The door, not opened for a while, creaked as it swung open. Without looking back, Yigyeom cautiously entered, closed the door behind him, and locked it.
“…”
Soon, the sound of footsteps distancing themselves outside was heard. Leaning against the door, Yigyeom listened intently to the fading footsteps. It hurt to hear those steps moving away, despite Yigyeom saying not to stay and asking them to leave. Like a fool, Tears welled up in his eyes.
“…”
Wiping his eyes, Yigyeom leaned against the door, gazing at the place he had spent a lifetime, a home too familiar. He thought it would be okay to come here, but nothing felt okay. Instead of the comfort and ease from the homely instincts, his heart ached with emptiness.
There was now only him in this house, and no one was coming back. Yigyeom stood leaning against the door for a long time, gazing at the spot where Grandpa used to be and realizing the absence of both Grandpa and Kwon Taejung.
Carefully opening the door that had been opened countless times, Yigyeom found an empty room. Looking at the spot where Grandpa’s bedding used to be, then turning his head, Yigyeom gazed at the place where Kwon Taejung and he had cuddled and slept together.
“…”
A wall-mounted TV, a good blanket, and… seeing Kwon Taejung’s clothes folded on top of his, as he had asked to leave them there in case he returned, a moist breath gathered in his mouth, trembling.
He didn’t want to cry anymore. He didn’t want to show tears because he felt Grandpa wouldn’t rest in peace if he kept crying. Also, crying made Kwon Taejung come to mind, which was difficult.
Suppressing tears and taking a deep breath, Yigyeom gathered courage and entered the empty room. Sitting quietly, leaning against the wall, he gazed at the spot where Grandpa used to lie.
“…”
Staying in this room continuously felt like he would spend each day in immense sadness. He needed to work again, whether it was at the café or wearing a rabbit suit. If he busied himself with repaying debts, sadness and the emotions of liking someone would dull. Nothing in the world remains unchanged.
“I hope you’ll smile at me again.”
… But there isn’t.
***
Seeing Kwon Taejung, whose face appeared slightly more gaunt, looking more sensitive, the assistant approached with a worried expression. Seeing him here in a container instead of at home was quite shocking.
“Taejung, what are you doing here? Why did you come out?”
“Yigyeom went home.”
“Yigyeom? Ah… to pack Grandpa’s things?”
“Well, that’s part of it. Uh, you probably don’t know. I went home briefly then. You missed something significant, Baek Jin-woo.”
Seeing Kwon Taejung leaning against the sofa behind, Baek Jinwoo smirked as if asking what that meant and waited for more to come.
“After you went home, I fed Yigyeom, and I saw off the funeral service company representatives. They told you to come back in the morning.”
“Oh.”
“Two of us were at the mortuary, and Goo Daebom came.”
“What? How did Goo Daebom know about it? No, why did he come there?”
“Yigyeom changed his phone. He stopped working at the café and moved to my home, so he couldn’t reach him, and Daebom came because his eyes were wandering.”
Although said calmly, Kwon Taejung’s mind was far from calm. Certainly, it began with Yigyeom misunderstanding him as a gangster, which was his fault for letting the misunderstanding persist, but he had no intention of forgiving Goo Daebom for acting like that on the spot. His fault was his fault, and Goo Daebom’s fault was Goo Daebom’s.
Yeah!